Many programming languages including graphical programming languages, textual programming languages and dynamically typed array-based languages, such as MATLAB from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass., provide support for classes and object-oriented programming. Array-based languages are a natural choice to solve many different mathematical and scientific computing problems. Object-oriented programming languages support the concept of inheritance which allows new classes to be derived from existing classes. Providing object-oriented support in a dynamically typed array-based language supplies programmers with powerful tools for solving technical problems.
Unfortunately, the combination of object-oriented support in a dynamically typed array-based programming language has conventionally led to a syntax being utilized in providing class definitions that fails to take full advantage of the array properties of the array-based language. Similarly, the conventional syntax has also failed to combine inheritance with arrays in an efficient manner. It would be desirable to provide a class definition syntax for a dynamically typed array-based programming language and other types of programming languages that enables the efficient definition of derived classes while also leveraging the array-based nature of the dynamically typed array-based programming language.